History

by Terrie Hanke… Iditarod has many legendary figures. Most have stood on sled runners and coached dog teams from Fourth Avenue in Anchorage to Front Street in Nome. Jan Newton has never run a dog team in The Last Great Race but her contributions to the race are remarkable and have elevated her to a …

by Terrie Hanke in Unalakleet The Iditarod world spins 24-hours a day. Mushers come into the checkpoint, mushers leave the checkpoint, vets check dogs, dogs eat, dog feet and muscles are massaged by caring mushers, dogs sleep, mushers sleep and a myriad of other mushing related tasks. But there’s a whole lot more happening in …

by Martha Dobson The Iditarod Trail is an official historic trail, running from Seward, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. When it was first used, men, and a few women, who were looking for new prospects turned to the lure of gold, disembarking a boat in Seward and beginning their trek for fortunes. 2012 is the fourth …

by Terrie Hanke In 1977 Bob Chlupach attempted and completed his rookie Iditarod. In total he’s completed ten Iditarods over four decades. The 2012 race makes for running an Iditarod in each of five decades. After graduating with a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University, Chlupach took a fisheries job in …

by Terrie Hanke Sixty-six mushers drew bib numbers tonight at the Musher Banquet. Joe Redington, known to all as the father of the Iditarod has a pair of grandsons who’ll be the bookends of the mushers leaving the starting line. Ray Redington, Jr. drew bib number two and his brother, Ryan Redington drew bib number …

The 2012 Iditarod is the 40th running of the Last Great Race®. Remembering 40 years of Iditarod… . These memories were first shared on our Facebook page as snippets of history remembered and gather the stories together as articles for this website. Remembering 40 Years of Iditarod. . . The Original Iditarod Trail Committee members were: Al …

Prior to the 1978 race, three young ladies were in training for the Iditarod. Susan Butcher, Varona Thompson, and Shelley Gill Vandiver. To get in practice for the conditions that would be faced during the race, Susan decided to go for a swim in a hole in the ice at Knik Lake. With photographers there …

Kenneth Huston of the Sheffield Hotel in Anchorage, flew to Nome prior to the 1984 Nome Banquet with 700 pounds of meat, gallons and gallons of salads, crates of cauliflower, cases of green beans and 25 flats of fresh strawberries. Kenneth was a chef and his job when arriving in Nome was to cook for …

Remembering 40 Years of Iditarod… On January 20, 1981, Joe Redington, Sr., Herbie Nayokpuk, and Col. Norman Vaughan represented Alaska in the inaugural parade for President Ronald Reagan. The residents of Washington D.C. and everyone at the parade got to see three Alaskan dog teams mushing down Pennsylvania Avenue. The teams, arranged in a “V” …

The honorary musher for the 1988 Iditarod was “Muktuk” Marston. Elsie Marston, his wife, led the pre race festivities and cut the ribbon at the start of the race. “Muktuk’s” nick name came due to his success in a muktuk eating contest. Marston was very active in working towards Alaska’s statehood. Placing 15th in the …